Granny visits and Fay's first amusement park

Ryan's mom, Sandy, came into town last week to meet Rex and help out the exhausted parents. When planning the trip, Sandy asked if it would be ok to come over a weekend or if we'd rather she come during the week. I said "come on the weekend!!!" because contrary to our life before kids, weekends are more exhausting than week days.

Needless to say, Sandy fell in love with Rex. I wonder if boys are her first love since she had two of her own. We think Rex looks a lot like Ryan's brother Andy. So, perhaps she was reminded of holding her own newborn. But, I didn't have to wonder about her fondness for Fay. Even though Fay can be cold and stand-off-ish for anyone who is not her mommy, Sandy had her warmed up in no time. And by the time Sandy had to go home, Fay was proclaiming that she wanted to go home WITH Grandma. She even got on her shoes to get ready for the plane. This was a funny sight since we've been potty training and Fay had only a shirt and her shoes on. (Not so funny later when Fay had an accident that poured right into her sneakers)



Grandma was a huge help. She cooked for us, and helped clean up the house and do laundry. But the best part was having an extra set of hands around to help hold Rex when I was playing with Fay, or to play with Fay when I was nursing Rex. And she helped me get more sleep by soothing Rex to sleep after I was done nursing on the nights he didn't want to go right back to sleep.



One highlight of the weekend was taking Fay to the amusement park in Central Park. During the summer, they turn Wollman Rink (ice skating) into Victoria Gardens. It is an amusement park for little kids -- perfect for Fay's age. Fay LOVED the rides. She went on about 4 with daddy. And she hasn't stopped talking about it. The very next day we asked her if she wanted to go to the playground, and which one. She said "the one with the rides".



And, I had a birthday. Fay was really cute...helping daddy frost cupcakes...and singing happy birthday to me. The grandma visit was great timing for a nice birthday outing sans kids too.

Baby Rex Arrives

Its been three days since Rex entered our world, and I've been remiss in writing the birth story on the East River Baby blog. Which should now be named East River Babies blog. But, as you can imagine, I've been a little overwhelmed. :)

With two weeks left to go before Rex's due date, I started feeling contractions on Wed morning. Fay was such a fast birth (2 hours from wake up to birth), that Ryan and I were a little anxious about making it to the hospital on time for Rex's birth. We talked about running out the door as soon as the first labor pains arrived. Our hospital was on the other side of town, and we had to drop off Fay at the neighbors. So we knew we needed all the time we could get.

Of course, when I started feeling labor pains on Wed morning, I wasn't convinced that I was in labor, since the due date was two weeks away. I woke up at 5am feeling really uncomfortable. I rolled over to switch sides, but still could not get comfortable. So I got up to take a shower. Fay was already up....early even for her. After the shower, I got Fay some breakfast and played with her a little. By 5:30 I started feeling contractions, so I woke Ryan up and told him that I thought I was in labor, but I wasn't sure because the pain was manageable. Total denial!

At 6am, the contractions were PAINFUL, and they were coming so frequently I couldn't really time them. Probably about every 5 minutes or less. I woke Ryan up again and told him I was taking Fay to the neighbor's. I told Fay the baby was coming today and that she was going to play with her friends. Fay was great. She was completely cooperative and I got her dressed at to the neighbor's in no time.

We left for the hospital at about 6:30 I think. We got a call back from our midwife while we were in the car, and they scolded us for not calling sooner. (They didn't really know at this point how fast it was all happening). Luckily, one of the midwives lives blocks from the hospital, so she was able to meet us with a wheelchair at the entrance.

I was *really* impressed by our midwife. She took charge of the situation immediately and was shouting out orders to me and to Ryan. She told me to "sit still!" while in the wheelchair, lest I hurt myself. And she commanded Ryan to "hurry up!" and open all the doors in front of us so she could wheel me through.

I expected her to be all rainbows and flowers during the labor in the Birthing Center. But she continued to be very stern and all business. I think this is because we were at the point of delivery, not simply "laboring" while we wait for the endgame.



Rex was born at 7:22am. We had plenty of time once we reached the hospital. I didn't feel as if I almost had him in the car, as I felt with Fay.

Rex has been a champion sleeper and eater from the first day. All seems well, and he is healthy.



We thought we would be discharged from the birthing center on the first day, as is their policy to do early dismissal 12 hours after birth. But as it turned out, I tested positive for Strep B on my last midwife visit (common bacteria for preggers), so they had to test Rex for the same and keep us over night. Normally they can give the mom a shot of antibiotics before the birth is she is positive, but there was no time with my 2 hour labor.



So we came home Thursday night, after Rex tested negative for Strep B. And we have just completed our first day home with the 4 of us.

Fay is doing really well. Better than I expected in fact. She has been very patient when I have to nurse the baby and cannot play with her. And she keeps saying "I love baby". She also wants to help every time he has a dirty diaper, by handing me a new diaper and diaper cream.



Ryan and I first thought that having Rex on the long holiday weekend would be a great thing so we could have a lot of family time before going back to work/school on Tuesday. But after our first day we are somewhat dreaming of school for Fay and work for Ryan so that I can concentrate on one kid for a while and catch up on sleep. I'm sure we will be pros at this whole "two kid" thing shortly. But right now, we are feeling exhausted and overwhelmed. And, of course, very very happy.

Can I tell you, that I actually thought I wouldn't fall in love with Rex the same way I did with Fay? I thought there may be no substitute for that first baby feeling. I was wrong. I am completely head over heels for Rex.